Knife holder having support stand allowing use on counter or in drawer

ABSTRACT

A cutlery holder for positionably retaining a plurality of cutlery items in either a horizontal orientation or in an inclined orientation. The cutlery holder includes a body portion having a plurality of slots formed therein for receiving blade portions of cutlery items and a support stand connected to the body portion. The support stand has a first position for supporting the body portion such that the slots extend in a horizontal orientation and a second position for supporting the body portion such that the slots extend in an inclined orientation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to knife holders having blade-receiving slots therein for removably supporting kitchen knives.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Numerous forms of knife holders are known in the art, including slotted holders. Such holders generally include a series of slots, formed in a suitable support, which are each adapted to removably receive and retain a knife blade. One common form of slotted holder is designed to be simply placed on a countertop so that the knives will be readily accessible. Examples of knife holders that are placed on countertops are shown in numerous patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,537,315, 6,371,312 and 4,561,548. The slots in these holders are customarily formed within a support body so as to receive the knife blades in a generally upwardly-extending position, with a butt end of each handle resting upon a support; or alternately, to receive the knife blades downwardly therein at an inclined angle, such that a forward face of the handle abuts the support body adjacent the slots. These devices occupy a certain amount of countertop space, which is rather limited in many homes. In other types of slotted holders the slots extend horizontally so that the holder may be housed in a kitchen drawer thereby preserving limited counterspace. In any case, the knives are taken out when they are demanded for cooking.

One of the disadvantages encountered with known knife holders, resides in the fact that the slots for receiving the knife blades are generally in a fixed orientation with respect to a support base. Thus, in a knife holder intended to reside on a countertop the slots are either positioned vertically or at an angle for receiving the knife blades, whereas in a knife holder intended to reside in a draw the slots extend in a horizontal direction. Since the typical homeowner is usually pressed for counter space, a horizontal orientation of the slots is often preferred so that the holder can be stored in a draw. However, it is difficult to take out knives from inside the draw, particularly when several different kinds of knives are to be used during cooking. In this case it is an annoyance to continuously open and close the draw to take out the knives or put them back in the holder.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,651 shows a knife holder that can be adjusted between a vertical orientation and an inclined orientation. The vertical orientation will generally occupy less counter-space and thus can be used to store the knife holder, whereas the inclined orientation, while occupying more counter-space, is more convenient when the knives are in use. However, neither orientation allows the holder to be placed in a drawer, thereby eliminating the need to occupy any counter-space whatsoever. Thus, the homeowner continues to be confronted with the dilemma of having to choose between convenience of use, and the utilization of counter-space when selecting a knife holder for cutlery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the invention and together with the description of the preferred embodiments, serve to explain the principles of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front surface, upper surface and a side surface of a first embodiment of a knife holder in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of the holder of FIG. 1 that employs one embodiment of a support stand constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevation view of the holder of FIG. 1 that employs one alternative embodiment of a support stand constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views of another embodiment of a knife holder in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation view of the holder of FIGS. 7 and 8 with the support stand in an extended position; and

FIG. 10 is a rear elevation view of the holder of FIGS. 7 and 8 with the support stand in a retracted position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a cutlery holder is provided for positionably retaining a plurality of cutlery items in either a horizontal orientation or in an inclined orientation. The cutlery holder includes a body portion having a plurality of slots formed therein for receiving blade portions of cutlery items and a support stand connected to the body portion. The support stand has a first position for supporting the body portion such that the slots extend in a horizontal orientation and a second position for supporting the body portion such that the slots extend in an inclined orientation.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the support stand is retractable when in the first position.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the body portion has an upper surface from which the plurality of slots extend, a bottom surface opposing the upper surface, a front surface and back surface and opposing side surfaces. The support stand is retractable against the back surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the support stand is pivotably connected to the back surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the support stand is pivotably connected to the opposing side surface of the body portion.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the support stand includes a support tongue having a first end hingedly connected to the back surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the support stand further comprises a detachable fastening mechanism for selectively maintaining the support stand in the retractable first position.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the detachable fastening mechanism includes a first component secured to the back surface and a second component attached to a portion of the support stand.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the support stand includes a planar support base pivotably connected to a portion of the back surface near the bottom surface. The support stand also includes a brace having a first end pivotably connected to the planar support base and a second end that selectively engages with the bottom surface of the body portion when the support stand is in the second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present invention described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present invention.

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned limitations of conventional knife holders by providing a cutlery (e.g., knife) holder that can rest on a counter in an inclined orientation or which can be conveniently stored in a draw. This is accomplished, as detailed below, by providing a support stand that is attached to the back of the cutlery holder so that the holder can rest on a counter or other surface. The support stand is connected to the cutlery holder by a hinge or other mechanism so that it can lay flat against the holder when it is to be used in a horizontal orientation (e.g., when it is to be stored in a draw). While the present invention will bet discussed in terms of a knife holder, those of ordinary skill in art will recognize that the invention is equally applicable to holders for other types of cutlery.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, the numeral 10 designates one embodiment of a knife holder in accordance with the present invention. It should be noted that the particular shape, configuration and dimensions of knife holder 10 are presented by way of illustration only are not to be construed as a limitation on the invention. More generally, the present invention is applicable to any slotted knife holder that is desired. For example, FIGS. 7-10 shown another embodiment of a knife holder in which the present invention may be employed. In contrast to the knife holder depicted in FIGS. 1-5, those depicted in FIGS. 6-9 are sufficiently large in dimension to completely encompass both the knife blades and the handles while still fitting in a typical kitchen drawer.

Returning to FIGS. 1 through 4, holder 10 comprises a body 11 having an upper surface 12, a front surface 14 transverse to upper surface 12, opposite side surfaces 16 and 18, a rear surface 20 and a bottom surface 22. Upper surface 12 slopes upwardly, proceeding rearwardly from the front edge 21 thereof which meets the upper edge of front surface 14. Holder 10 may be supported during use either on a table or counter by inclining it against a support stand 110 that is connected to the rear surface 20 of the holder. As discussed below, a wide variety of different support stands may be employed, only one example of which is shown in FIGS. 1-4. The support stand 110 also can be folded or retracted against the rear surface 20 so that the knife holder 10 can be oriented horizontally by being supported on its rear surface 20. In this horizontal orientation the holder 10 can be conveniently stored in a draw or other location. The support stand 110 may be integrally formed with the body 11 of the holder or it may be connected in a detachable manner. Moreover, the knife holder 10 may be fabricated from any suitable material such as wood, plastic, ceramic, metal or any combination thereof. When the holder 10 is formed of wood the slots, described below, may be saw-cut into opposed sides of an initial block, and opposed veneer sides may be laminated to the initial block to close the edges of the slots and form composite body 12.

Holder 10 comprises a series (e.g., four) of knife-blade receiving slots, such as slot 26, which extend inwardly from the upper surface 12 and front surface 14 and is thus able to releasably support a series (e.g., four) of knives, such as the knife 30 shown in FIG. 4.

The exemplary item of cutlery is a knife 30 that comprises a knife handle 32 and a knife blade 34. Knife handle 32, which is wider and thicker than blade 34, includes a terminal end 36 and an opposite end 37 from which blade 34 extends or projects. As FIGS. 2 and 4 show, the end 37 of handle 32 is sloped and tapered, respectively. Blade 16 has a length L measured from blade tip 35 to the lowermost part of handle end 37. Of course, the knife holder 10 can be configured to accomodate a wide variety of knives and is not limited to the particular knife depicted herein.

As FIG. 4 shows, blade-receiving slot 26 includes an upper slot end 50, a lower slot end 52, an interior slot portion 54 and an exposed frontal slot portion 56 which is closer to front surface 14 of holder 10 than is the interior slot portion 54. Blade-receiving slot 26 is at least as long as the length L of the knife blade 16 of knife 30. Different ones of the slots 26 will generally have different lengths to accommodate knife blades of different lengths.

Blade obstructing means 60 are provided near the lower slot end 52 of blade-receiving slot 26 in front of the interior slot portion 54 and at or near the exposed frontal slot portion 56. The distance between the top side 62 of the blade obstructing means 60 and the upper surface 12 of the body 11 of knife holder 10 adjacent the lowermost part of handle 32 is less than the length L of the blade 34 of knife 30.

Handle engagement means in the form of a projection 64 are provided adjacent the upper slot end 50 of blade-receiving slot 26 and near the edge 21 where the upper surface 12 and front surface 14 of body 11 meet or intersect. The handle engagement means 64 engages the end of handle 32 of knife 30 to prevent the latter from sliding and falling forward out of slot 26 when emplaced therein.

Knife holder 10 is employed as follows. Assume that holder 10 is standing on a surface, such as a table or counter (now shown). To place knife 30 therein, the user grasps the knife handle 32, inserts the top 35 of knife blade 34 in a slot 26 at any position above the obstructing means 60, slides the blade tip downwardly into the slot and into the space or region behind the obstructing means 60, and brings the end 37 of knife handle 32 to rest against the upper surface 12 of body 11 behind the handle engagement means 64 on surface 12, as FIG. 4 shows.

To remove the knife 30, it is necessary to grasp the handle 32 and to raise it vertically until the handle end 37 clears the handle engagement means 64 and then to further raise it vertically (simultaneously tilting the knife forward or counterclockwise with respect to FIG. 4, if desired) until blade tip 35 is above and able to clear the obstructing means 60, whereupon the knife can be withdrawn completely from holder 10 without any further vertical movement.

Support stand 110 shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5 comprises a pair of legs 114 and an intermediate beam 112 interconnecting the legs 114 (see FIG. 5). Terminal portions 116 of legs 114 pivotably engage with the side surfaces 16 and 18 so that the support stand 110 can be extended when in use to support the holder 10 in an inclined orientation and retracted when the holder 10 is be oriented horizontally. The terminal portions 116 of legs 114 may be pivotably connected to the side surfaces 16 and 18 by any appropriate means such as by fasteners 118 or the like. In some cases the terminal portions 116 may have inwardly extending tabs (not shown) that are selectively engagable with holes located in the side surfaces 16 and 18 of the holder 10. With this arrangement the support stand 110 can be selectably attached to and then maintained at a predetermined inclination with respect to the body 11 of the holder 10. If such tabs and holes are employed, a series of holes may be provided that extend vertically along the side surfaces 16 and 18. By engaging the tabs of the terminal portions 116 in different holes, the inclination of the body 11 against the support stand can be adjusted by the user.

As previously mentioned, the present invention contemplates the use of any appropriate type of support stand and is not limited to that shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 a support tongue 120 may be pivotably connected to the rear surface 20 by a hinge 122 or other structure. The support tongue 120 has a narrowed tip section nearest the hinge 122 and a widened base section that rests on a counter when the knife holder is in an inclined orientation. The support tongue 120 is extended when the holder is to rest at an inclined angle and retracted so that it lays flat against the rear surface 20 when the holder is to rest horizontally. A latch, clip, magnet, hook and loop connector (e.g., Velcro™) or other means may be used to selectively fasten the support tongue 120 to the rear surface 20 when in the retracted or flat position.

In other embodiments of the invention a support stand 200 such as shown in FIGS. 7-10 may be employed. Support stand 200 includes a base 210 and brace 220. FIG. 7 shows the support stand 200 when the knife holder is arranged in an inclined orientation and FIG. 10 shows the support stand 200 when the knife holder is to be arranged in a horizontal orientation. The base 210 pivotably engages with a portion of the rear surface 20 that is near one edge of the bottom surface 22. In this way the base 210 can lay flat against the rear surface 20 or pivoted away from the rear surface 20. In the former case, the holder 10 can be oriented so that it can be stored in a drawer and in the latter case the holder can be vertically oriented at an angle of inclination determined by the support stand 200.

The base 210 has a cut-out 222 with dimensions sufficient to accommodate the brace 220 so that the base 210 and brace 220 can lie in a common plane (see FIG. 9). A first end 220B of the brace 220 is pivotably secured to sidewalls defining the cut-out 222. The second end of the brace 220A can be engaged with slots or grooves 230 formed in the bottom surface 22. The slot 230 is preferably located near the center or upper portion of the bottom surface 22. When the brace 220 is so engaged, the knife holder can be supported an inclined angle against the support stand 200 in the manner depicted in FIG. 7. If desired, two or more slots 230 can be provided which extend in a column one below the other so that the inclination of the knife holder can be adjusted by inserting the second end of the brace 220 in the desired slot. Once again, a latch, clip, magnet, hook and loop connector (e.g., Velcro™) or other means may be used to selectively fasten the support stand 200 to the rear surface 20 when in the retracted or flat position. For instance, in FIG. 9, a magnet 240 is secured to the brace 220. The magnet 240 engages with a corresponding metallic material 242 located on the rear surface 20 so that both the brace 220 and the base 210 can be secured against the rear surface 20 (see FIG. 10).

Although various embodiments are specifically illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated that modifications and variations of the present invention are covered by the above teachings and are within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention. 

1. A cutlery holder for positionably retaining a plurality of cutlery items in either a horizontal orientation or in an inclined orientation comprising: a body portion having an upper surface, a bottom surface opposing said upper surface, a front surface and back surface and opposing side surfaces, said body portion having a plurality of slots formed therein and extending inward from the upper surface toward the bottom surface for receiving blade portions of cutlery items; and a support stand directly connected to said body portion, said support stand having a first position for supporting said body portion such that said slots extend in a horizontal orientation and a second position for supporting said body portion such that said slots extend in an inclined orientation.
 2. The cutlery holder of claim 1 wherein said support stand is retractable when in the second position so that the body portion can be supported when in the second position.
 3. The cutlery holder of claim 1 wherein said support stand is retractable against said back surface.
 4. The cutlery holder of claim 3 wherein said support stand is pivotably connected to said back surface.
 5. The cutlery holder of claim 1 wherein said support stand is pivotably connected to said opposing side surfaces of the body portion.
 6. The cutlery holder of claim 3 herein said support stand comprises a support tongue having a first end hingedly connected to said back surface.
 7. The cutlery holder of claim 2 wherein said support stand further comprises a detachable fastening mechanism for selectively maintaining said support stand in said retractable first position.
 8. The cutlery holder of claim 7 wherein said detachable fastening mechanism comprises a first component secured to the back surface and a second component attached to a portion of the support stand.
 9. The cutlery holder of claim 3 wherein said support stand comprises a planar support base pivotably connected to a portion of the back surface near said bottom surface and a brace having a first end pivotably connected to the planar support base and a second end that selectively engages with said back surface of the body portion when said support stand is in said second position.
 10. The cutlery holder of claim 1 wherein each of said slots have an interior slot portion configured to substantially enclose a cutlery blade and a length that extends at least half the distance between the upper surface and the bottom surface of the body.
 11. The cutlery holder of claim 1 wherein the upper surface extends downwardly from the back surface to the front surface.
 12. The cutlery holder of claim 11 further comprising a plurality of handle engagement elements each associated with one of the slots.
 13. The cutlery holder of claim 12 wherein each of the handle engagement elements comprises a projection formed in the upper surface and which tapers inward toward its respective slot.
 14. The cutlery holder of claim 1 further comprising a blade obstructing element situated at an end of the slot remote from the upper surface.
 15. A cutlery holder for positionably retaining a plurality of cutlery items in either a horizontal orientation or in an inclined orientation comprising: a body portion having an upper surface, a bottom surface opposing said upper surface, a front surface and back surface and opposing side surfaces, said body portion having a plurality of slots formed therein for receiving blade portions of cutlery items, wherein the slots extend through the upper surface of the body portion toward the bottom surface; and a support stand having a first position for supporting said body portion such that said slots extend in a horizontal orientation and a second position for supporting said body portion such that said slots extend in an inclined orientation and wherein a portion of the bottom surface of the body portion is in contact with a surface on which the cutlery holder is situated when the body portion is in the inclined orientation. 